Getting Real With Food

2011-11-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

I am alive! :) I admit with all the other demands of life, blogging has taken a steep decline in my priorities the past several months. Sorry to drop off the face of the Earth! I love my Real Food Friends!! :) I learn so much from you and all the comments and emails you share with me!
I have REALLY missed blogging. I realize that I can't wait for things to settle down so I can blog again. Things haven't settled down in my personal life, so, come what may, I am making a slot of time for blogging again. (YEAH!) I am excited. Lately, I have had the opportunity to get financially creative. (Speaking of not sacrificing your whole pay check for Good food.) I am learning a lot about where to buy high quality food and not have to have a million dollars to do it. Organic foods don't have to cost a fortune do they? Trust me, I have had to get really creative lately on a, umm... very skimpy food budget. I have been so lucky and happy to find some great organic foods from Costco, Azure Standard, and Smiths! Lucky for my I have great relatives, family and friends who have taught me where to find good deals on good food. It has been a life saver lately for me. I am also keeping my eye on the Green Polka Dot Box. I am learning to cut coupons and all sorts of savvy money saving things. I love sourcing out farms that are close to me and being able to get milk, eggs and meats WAY below retail price for pastured animal products! I would love to share these valuable secrets with you. It is creative time! :)

Chill out with my Berry Cheescake Ice Cream Recipe!

2010-07-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

alright. i did say that i would share my new ice cream recipe. so here it is!!! i created this one just this summer and it has been a big hit in my family! it is amazingly DELICIOUS AND NUTRITIOUS! (as my daughter loves to say. :). isn't it fun to be able to easily make your own ice cream? Nourishing AND tasty desserts are the best!

Introducing...

Berry Cheesecake Ice Cream

16 ounces frozen, partially thawed berries or 2 cups fresh berries (blackberries and raspberries can be kind of sour-ish, blueberries and strawberries are naturally sweeter!)

8 ounces whole cream cheese, softened

2 cups cream, preferably fresh (not ultra-pasteurized)

1 cup fresh whole milk from pastured, grass-fed cow

3 drops lemon essential oil (use only pure, therapeutic essential oils in your cooking:) i love the doTerra brand!

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup unrefined agave or pure maple syrup

2 Tablespoons Sucanat (unrefined sugar

*you can also add 2 egg yolks (whites removed) for even more nourishment and deliciousness. it is optional though! :)

here's my ingredients today:

in a large bowl, beat 8 ounces cream cheese until smooth.

then add the sucanat, lemon oil, vanilla and unrefined agave OR pure maple syrup. Beat again until smooth.

slowly add the fresh milk- 1/3 cup at a time (using measuring cup from syrup). this insures the mixture stays nice and smooth and the cream cheese won't suddenly get lumpy. if you skip this step and find that your mixture is lumpy, no worries, once frozen it's still yummy, just not creamy-smooth. ;)

now pour into your ice cream maker, with out the berries, and process about 20 minutes- if you are using a freezer-canister-type of ice cream maker like mine shown here:

if you're going to use the "ice and salt" ice cream maker like this one...

...then you're looking at an hour or so. and you might as well double or triple the recipe with the extra canister room. ;)

here is a top view of this ice cream recipe after 10 minutes...half way there!

After your ice cream "processes" then scoop it out into a shallow freezable container and mix in the berries of your choice. if your berries are thawed with lots of juice in the bag, dump all the juice in too!

i used fresh organic raspberries from my own yard for my recipe today. mmmm!!! raspberries have a natural tartness. it is still really yummy, however, for this recipe, my personal favorite has been the blueberries! But seriously...with berries and cream, ya can't go wrong!

i also made another batch (for family visiting next week) with frozen blueberries, that i thawed, pictured below.

i hope you are having a GREAT Summer and that this recipe will make it even sweeter! :)

Let me know what you think this recipe!

Answers to Real Food Contest and WINNER!!!

2010-07-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Leah Adair! She is the winner of the real food contest and i will be mailing her an autographed copy of my book! YEAH Leah! :)

THANK YOU to EVERYONE who participated, you made the contest a HUGE success!!

We received so many emails with answers to the Real Food quiz!!! That was a lot of fun! No one got all the answers right, however there were several that were very close! so the prize goes to the one that got the most answers right! :)

Everyone did such a fantastic job guessing! i was so impressed with how well you all recognize real food. i had so much fun with this contest. You can definitely look forward to more fun contests and free give-a-ways in the near future! :)

Here are the Answers to what the Real Food Pictures are. i gave everyone credit as long as it was similar and a close answer. it didn't have to be word for word! :)

1) Long Grain Brown Rice
2) Quinoa
3) Millet
4) Raw Sunflower Seeds
5) Brown Flax Seeds
6) Raw Pumpkin Seeds
7) Rolled Oats
8) Yellow Popcorn Kernels
9) Raw Almonds (Soaked & Dehydrated)
10) Sucanat (unrefined whole cane sugar)
11) Redmond Real Sea Salt
12) Raw Shredded Coconut (dried & Unsweetened)
13) Spelt Grain
14) Kamut Grain
15) Soft White Wheat
16) Pink/Red Lentils (even though they actually are kind of orange-ish!)

Thanks again everone! And Congrats again to Leah! :)

FREE COOKBOOK GIVE-A-WAY!!!!

2010-07-12T15:40:00.000-07:00

i am offering a free gift for you today! i am going to be giving someone a FREE copy of my book, The Diet Rebel's Cookbook! (Gift valued at $25!!!)

i am having a contest is to see who will be the FIRST to identify as many of the 16 pictures below of REAL FOOD as possible! :) and email your answers to: TheDietRebel@gmail.com

If you are following my blog (which means you're awesome) AND are the first person to email me the most correct answers for the REAL FOOD pictures below... then you WIN A FREE COPY OF The Diet Rebel's COOKBOOK!!!! it's that EASY! Simply email your answers to me at: TheDietRebel@gmail.com

i will let you know if you are the winner by via email! i will then put your free copy of The Diet Rebel's Cookbook in the mail and send it off to you at no charge...that's F-R-E-E, baby!! (gift valued at $25)!!!

Contest begins today, Monday, July 12th and goes until one of the emails i receive has all the right answers or whoever has the MOST right answers by 9:00 AM, Thursday, July 15th. i will let you know when we have a WINNER!!! :)

Please number your answers:) Such as: 1) red hard wheat (2) short brown rice, etc... (hint: neither of those are the answers to any of the pictures below! ;)

Here are the 16 pictures of REAL FOOD (that i just took of foods in my kitchen today) that you get to identify correctly... to win a free copy of my book! :) wahoo!

Good luck and remember- the person to email me the most right answers will be the winner... YOU could WIN a FREE book today! :D send contest answers to: TheDietRebel@gmail.com

Now, Let's see how well you know your real foods!! :)

Make sure and email your answers to: TheDietRebel@gmail.com
it's all for fun and games...and a free book, of course! :)

i will post the correct answers as soon as i have concluded the winner... :D

My ClaSSic SuMMer PiCniC ReCipeS!

2010-07-06T18:24:00.000-07:00

I had a fantastic fourth of July...the whole weekend was a TREAT! i had fun watching all of my neighbors fireWORKS (my husband just laughed really hard at me, because i wrote firecrackers there before changing it. he then explained AFTER laughing at me, that firecrackers are the little things you throw. hmm. that really does give you a different picture. somehow watching my neighbors throw little pops or snaps in the street just wouldn't be the same :) and i look forward to the fireWORKS in my town this weekend. i love SUMMER!

i have enjoyed making a TON of tasty and nourishing food for my family! and i gotta say... i LOVE the kind of food i feed them. :D i do. i SOOoooOo do! i love food and wholesome, delicious, homemade foods are the BEST. so why shouldn't i be incredibly proud for giving my family the BEST? After all, i am not spending more money doing it. (seriously! comparison is over a year. i save a ton by baking from scratch! and my food is HIGH quality...whooOa) i take pride in how i cook, and that i actually do cook and that i cook from scratch. You know as well as i do, it is something a person can be proud of these days! ;) ahhhh...it is just so REWARDING for me. especially, all the "MMM..." compliments from my daughter!

hey, when a kindergartner loves to eat nourishing foods... you know you're doing something right! it makes a Mommy feel GOOD. :) Which reminds me... a sweet girl recently posted a comment on my facebook wall saying, "People always tell me that it's easy to know what is healthy to eat; if it tastes good, they shouldn't eat it. Well, people just need to try the recipes in your cookbook and they'll discover eating healthy actually tastes BETTER!"... i just have to say, she isn't lying!

This past weekend i made bison burgers with my 36 Minute Sprouted Wheat Buns, Perfect Pasta Salad, Classic Potato Salad, a delicious blueberry cream pie, and of course Fresh Lemonade, grapes and lots of amazing fresh fruit! YUM! i have already shared my hamburger bun and potato salad recipes in a previous post. so, today, i am excited to share the other recipes with you! These recipes are classic American favorites in the warm Summer months and these more nourishing versions are soon to become family favorites of yours too! You are sure to use them over and over! :D

Perfect Pasta Salad

Makes: 20 servings / Prep time: 20 minutes

12 oz Tinkyáda organic brown rice pasta (i like using the spirals. this is the BEST tasting/texture pasta i have found. it is made with only organic brown rice...better than any OTHER. it looks like white pasta- fools anyone, BUT its NOT. hee hee. :)

6 slices bacon, cooked and cut in little pieces

1½ cups fresh green onions, sliced

½ cup grated carrots

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes (This picture didn't do it justice. it is a beautiful salad display. please note that the shredded carrots are NOT dyed cheese, like my daughter's friend asked. my cheese is a natural yellow...raw yumminess.)

1 cup chopped cucumber

¾ cup sliced olives

¼ cup fresh green peas (removed from pods) or ½ of a green pepper, chopped

¼ cup raw cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Pasta Salad Dressing (for pasta salad above)

⅔ cup Vegenaise (i use grape seed oil kind, with purple lid)

⅓ cup plain whole yogurt

3 Tbsps. fresh lemon juice or raw apple cider vinegar

½ tsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes

1 tsp. dried dill

Redmond real sea salt and pepper to taste

Boil pasta according to package instructions with 1 tablespoon Real sea salt. Drain and rinse under ice-cold water. Blot with a paper towel and transfer to a large bowl. Add all the other ingredients and the prepared pasta salad dressing. Toss gently and keep chilled.

Berry Cream Pie

Makes: 1 (9-inch) pie / Prep time: 30 minutes / Chill time: about 2 or more hours

Coconut Almond Pie Crust: (see photo below)
¾ cup Traditional Almonds (soaked overnight and then dehydrated until crispy)

¾ cup dried coconut flakes, unsweetened

1 cup whole dates, pitted or ¼ cup pure maple syrup or raw honey

1 Tbsp. coconut oil or butter, melted

a tiny pinch of Redmond Real sea salt

Process all ingredients in a food processor until all pieces are very tiny and crumbly, or about 2 to 3 minutes. It is important not to over process the almonds or they will turn into almond butter! Press the crumbly
mixture evenly on the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Chill for 15 minutes, or put in the freezer for a few minutes to chill faster.

Cream filling:

8 oz. organic cream cheese, softened ( i use Organic Valley brand, because they culture theirs! wahoo!) :P

¼ cup plain whole yogurt ( i use brown cow brand with the cream on top!)

¼ cup pure maple syrup or raw agave

2 tsps. fresh lemon juice

½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

Beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Then add the yogurt and blend together until creamy. Drizzle in agave or pure maple syrup

and add vanilla and lemon juice. Blend well. Pour into chilled piecrust. Chill or freeze for 30 minutes to an hour before applying the topping, for best results.

Berry Topping:

2 cups (16 oz.) frozen berries, partially thawed or fresh (blackberries, blueberries,raspberries, strawberries, dark sweet cherries, or a
combination)

2–3 Tbsps. raw agave or pure maple syrup

2 Tbsps. small pearl tapioca
1/3 cup berry or grape juice

To thaw frozen berries, keep them in the bag they came in (or put them in a waterproof zip top bag) and place them in a bowl of hot water. After about 15 minutes, the berries should be partially thawed. Pour the berry or grape juice into a small saucepan, then stir in the small tapioca pearls and soak for at least 5 minutes. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick and the pearls have turned from white to clear, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in agave or pure maple syrup. Stir in fresh or thawed berries, and then spread the topping over the top of the chilled cream filling. Chill for at least 1 to 2 hours more before serving. Keep refrigerated. This pie may be frozen, and thawed easily, if desired.

Fresh Lemonade

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice from about 5 medium-large organic lemons

8 cups Mineral Rich water (i LOVE water ionizers! BETTER than just a filter!! :)

1/4-1/2 teaspoon stevia powder ( i use the NOW brand organic stevia)

Mix well and chill! Use more or less water and stevia, depending on your family's taste! :) i don't like stevia for much else, but in cold drinks it is perfect! You can also easily make raspberry or strawberry lemonade too. i just stir in a little bit of fresh berry juice with this recipe. YUMerific!

perfection... on a HOT Summer day....ahhh...!!

Have YOU seen "fOOD inC."? mY fOOD fOR ThOUGHt on it...

2010-07-01T12:39:00.000-07:00

Have you seen fOOD inc? it is a documetary-type of "movie" that has been receiving lots of popularity lately. awesome. it is basic info on what is happening in BIG BUSINESS factory-"farms".

This movie is enlightening for the general public. These factory-farms have been going on for over a century now, although some people are indeed just learning of the disgusting and heart-breaking way that big-business animal product makers are treating and keeping their animals in. Like this photo where animals never get out and run or forage. :(

Actually i have seen so much worse than food inc, and it is horrifying!

it is one one the HUGE reasons i am SO PICKY about where my animal products and meat come from. Like this photo below... :D

i do believe that animals are a gift to this world and all mankind. Some people choose to refuse meat and/or animal products all together because of the belief that all animals are unhealthy and factory-farmed. i believe that God planned perfectly for humans to rule over animals and all other living things on the earth, TO RULE WITH LOVE AND RESPECT FOR ALL THINGS LIVING!!! Therein lies my issue...big time.

i thrive on healthy, grass-fed/pasture raised eggs, RAW milk, cream, yogurt, cheese, etc. And i eat the grass-fed/pastured meats as well (sparingly). My body does really well on healthily raised and properly treated animal protein, in fact when i have experimented on vegetarian/vegan diets or cleanses- oh my, oh my. i can do that for short periods of time in hot weather, however, not for an everyday lifestyle. it just does not work for my body.

everyone's body is different. There doesn't have to be judgement about someone's diet. different things work for different bodies. Some bodies don't do well on meat all together.

we all deserve to find what makes us FEEL strong and healthy, not just appear to be or just talk about what we think is healthy.

i learned about the disasterous factory-farming almost 8 years ago. if you haven't seen "Food Inc." or aren't yet aware of our nations big-business meat "farmers", then you deserve to go rent it today!

The film reveals some of the basics of what is happening: Basically, the CHEAP meats, cheese, yogurt, milk, eggs, and all animal products are not made with love...to say the least! :(

i have some really good friends that choose to be "raw foodists". i have heard comments from them that indicate they have difficulty in understanding how someone could love animals and nature or live harmoniously with them... if they eat them.

i have been asked by them, "Michelle, how can you eat meat or animal products when you know how cruely these animals are being treated and raised? How can you support those businesses? How can you say you love animals if you buy meat and you eat them?"

(With all do respect to these friends, those are VERY good questions... keep reading and i will share MY equally fantastic answers. :)

First, i have also heard of people watching the Food Inc. movie and then making comments such as, "i saw food inc. and i cannot ever eat any meat ever again! eew!"

My response is this: i would never eat meat, milk or the products from these makers ever either! IF those were my only choices... meaning, if there were only cows swimming in their poop eating grain, who were brutally beaten...i would NOT eat or drink anything from an animal like that. nor support those businesses! so sad.

Food Inc. reveals what big- businesses (psst...like all the meat and animal products sold at your local big grocer. uh-hmm.) are doing behind secret doors. that aren't so secret anymore.

Can you imagine how unhealthy these eggs and chickens are (pictured below)? these chickens never get out. never run around. it breaks my heart. where do your eggs come from? these businesses go to extremes to make sure people don't know how awful their facility is or how unhealthy their animals are.

They don't want people to stop buying their animal products! After all, the less you know, the better for them. They are making big money off people buying their cheap, unhealthy stuff. And these animals are paying the price for human ignorance.

(like the sick diseased cow that fell down and died in confinement...and they hauled it off to make cheap hamburger!) They want you to believe their products are fine because they are in the grocery store or on the menu at your local fast food joint. Everyone deserves to rethink that one. ;)

Unfortunately, as long as people keep buying these types of products and supporting the success of these types of businesses, your local grocer will keep supplying the super-crappy food demand. If consumers would stop buying the diseased animal products and demand higher standards, the stores would quickly stock the new demand...to get your money. :)

They want to make money. it's that simple. they don't really care about your health or our families. They will sell whatever people will buy.

We could have every store filled with high quality, organic foods and products- if that is all consumers would buy. In fact all the high quality organic food would then cost about half-as much too! that's what i'm talking about!

why do we have some of the MOST unhealthy people and animals in our country? umm, mystery solved. people in general are misplacing their trust in bad food sources. We cannot let big businesses, that want to make money at the cost of our health, tell us what is okay to eat and think. That would be pretty crazy eh?

We all deserve to make informed decisions about our food supply, health and medicine.

My final food for thought on Food Inc:
Buy only pasture raised, grass-eating, happy-sunshine-loving fresh raw milk and animal products and meats. not poor animals that were fed growth hormones like this unfortunate chicken! (same chicken 20 days later) yikes! (ticks me off...)

i personally visit the farms first. they have to be extremely beautiful, clean, and have healthy animals ON PASTURE. i always make sure i know where and how the animals are raised, how they are treated, before i buy from that farmer or health-conscious store.

So, to all i say... YES it is possible to LOVE, respect, honor and BE GRATEFUL for animals and still be one that eats meat.

The places i support are not at all like the ones featured in food inc. i support small farmers that have integrity and respect for animals.
My final note on the matter: animals deserve to live in a happy, healthy, harmonious environment- outside on grass.

i do believe, very strongly, that a chicken, cow or what have you, is fullfilling the measure of it's creation by ending up on my plate. (after a long, happy and healthy life). Animals are created for man to use (yes, eat).

i feel great love and appreciation for the animal that lived and then died so that i could benefit from it. i feel that way about fruits and vegetables too. They really are created by God for us. We all need to treat them the way God has entrusted us to. to have dominion over them- with great LOVE and appreciation.

i feel like i need to say amen now or something. :)

we'll it is my blog. and i had to say it. all of it. because i love it... all. :)

MY REAL fOOD STORAGE LIST!

2010-06-08T21:11:00.000-07:00

i have had a lot of comments from Readers that they lOVe that i share My own REAL FOOD food storage list! it is unique for me to be able to offer this, i always wanted one and could never find anything like it, SO i made my own.

i love the feeling of self-reliance and the "extended pantry" feel. Owning a "food storage" is a very rewarding and secure feeling and it's liberating!

Owning a real food storage, is honestly, probably at least 10 times more liberating than storing food you don't ever want to have to eat!

My real food storage came in super-handy when my husband was layed off right before Christmas last year. (no worries... blessing in "disguise" :) i was very grateful for all the bulk and extra food items i had right in my home, and i was equally grateful that i could eat the food i had chosen to store! it was familiar to me. nothing had to change in cooking for me. meals or taste buds didn't have to change. no powdered milk or powdered butter-bleeh. ;).

i have never been able to store food that has been freely recommended by my Church organization. (gasp!) i would get very SICK if i was to try to live for even a day on the food recommendations given... which is why i am so excited to be able to offer my nourishing food item list!

SoOoo, i have chosen to stick to the recommended amounts given by my church and then i have replaced all of the refined and "lacking" foods for higher quality, nourishing options. (ahh yee-ah!) they are foods that we can enjoy on a daily basis (pretty much) and foods that i feel good about feeding to my family. and i know, we will actually feel GOOD after eating them too. :) that's a big priority to me.

i am sharing an exerpt from my book today that i wrote on my "Extended Pantry List". (i prefer calling it an extended pantry though. "Food Storage" sounds like you are storing it away with no intent to have to consume it and hoping that you never have to! That's not what i do. it IS my extended PANTRY! :) (above is a picture of some SPELT grain, a type of ancient wheat, that my body can appreciate. it tastes like red hard wheat, kind of. but a lot better! it is my favorite for cookies!)

If the exerpt from my book below, sounds like i wrote it talking in third person. i did.
i had to, because i had a co-author with this book... :) i also show you an example of my Real Food Storage List, if you keep reading, with what i store for Grains, etc. The whole entire list IS in my book! (here is a picture of Kamut bread and grain below, also an ancient wheat variety that bodies love. it is light in color and my favorite for tortillas!)

(from The Diet Rebel's Cookbook)...
"We feel it’s a good idea to stock up on some essential foods in case of an emergency. This really is a good idea considering the economy and the hundreds of potential disasters that could prevent us from getting food from grocers. It’s a good idea to have a supply of essentials that can keep you alive for a year, but at the minimum, three months.

Foods that we feel are important to store, and that store well, are wheat, spelt, kamut, and other whole grains (whole berries that haven’t been ground into flour yet, for a longer shelf life), raw honey, unrefined sea salt, dry beans or

legumes, oil (extra virgin olive and coconut oils are good), and baking soda to use for leavening and for basic cleaning and tooth brushing, if needed. Brown rice can be stored as well, even though it has a tendency to have a shorter shelf life than white rice (about two years versus thirty years). Rinsing it well and airing it out can get rid of the stale flavor if rancidity is suspected, but sprouting it brings it back to life and creates more nutrients.

For a complete whole-foods storage list made of wholesome, nutritious food, keep reading. It’s also a great idea, and a fun one, to have your own vegetable garden, even if it’s on your back porch in little pots. This is the most economical and healthiest way to get your produce. Plus, if you have tons of extra food, and your neighbors pretend they are not home when you walk around the neighborhood with a bag of give-away zucchini, you can store or preserve some for the winter. (Not necessarily zucchini, but other storable winter produce, like winter squash, potatoes, carrots, and onions.) Canning, freezing, and dehydrating are all great ways to preserve garden produce that doesn’t store well through winter.

(here's me talking in third person now. ;)
Complete One-Year Food Storage List
This is Michelle’s one-year whole-food storage list for a family of four. (She’s had so many people ask for it that she decided to put it in our cookbook.) She created her own food storage list because she believes you should store what you and your family will actually eat (like an extension to your pantry). Of course, eating quality seasonal foods is the best option for regular meals, but this food list contains foods that can be stored in your home as the best choices to keep you fed, nourished, and—most importantly—self-reliant!

These days, having an edible “extended pantry” that has a year’s worth of food for your own family (that they will actually eat) is more valuable than its weight in gold! You can use this list or modify it to fit your own desires. For example, you may prefer to have most of your sweeteners come from raw honey and unrefined sugar and forgo the other sweeteners listed. It is a guideline with recommended approximate amounts, but you get to choose what you purchase and eat regularly in your family to equal the amounts suggested.

When adapting this list, determine how many adults and children are in your family and what whole foods they like to eat. Then slowly build your supply by purchasing a few extra items each time you shop. Before you know it, you will have the greatest supply of food around. This list also contains non-food items, like toilet paper, that may be great to have on hand in case of an emergency.

Water: 56–84 gallons
This calculation takes into account drinking, cooking, and basic hygiene purposes. This is only a two-week supply and is the suggested minimum amount

needed. Store at least fourteen gallons per person, or ideally twenty-one gallons per person, in your household. You can buy one-gallon jugs of filtered spring
water at your local market. A great way
to stock up on your water is to buy five-
to ten-gallon-sized jugs every time you
go to the store until you fulfill your
family’s requirement. Be creative and do
whatever works best for you!

Organic Grains and Seeds: 1200 lbs
Hard white wheat: 200 lbs
Soft “pastry” white wheat: 200 lbs
Popcorn kernels: 125 lbs
Tinkyáda® brown rice pasta: 70 lbs
Hard red wheat: 50 lbs

Rye berries: 50 lbs
Whole-grain brown rice: 50 lbs
Old-fashioned rolled oats: 50 lbs
Spelt or kamut berries: 300 lbs
Whole-grain quinoa: 25 lbs
Raw almonds: 50 lbs

Whole-grain millet: 10 lbs
Raw sunflower seeds: 10 lbs

Raw pumpkin seeds: 10 lbs

A FEW emails from people who've bought "The Diet Rebel's Cookbook"...

2010-06-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

"WOW! I'm spending a few weeks with a friend while we relocate, and she & I decided to cook only recipes from your "Diet Rebel's Cookbook" Every dish has been DIVINE and I love love LOVE the way I feel after eating them. Thank you MICHELLE!! You are a genius and have given us all a fool-proof plan for enjoying REAL food again."-Trisha

"Thank you for sharing your expertise. I am passionate about eating whole foods. It has been a few years now since I learned about the importance of raw milk, eggs from truly free range chickens, eating sprouted or soaked grains, and the importance of good healthy fats in our diet. However, I am not one that is grand in the kitchen so I have struggled somewhat in providing meals for my family that always fit with this knowledge. I have used the nourishing traditions book which has taught me a great deal but it isn't enough in terms of yummy delicious recipes!!! So this cookbook is heaven sent!! Thank you both. I have read Michelle's entire blog and everything on this web site. I ordered the book today through this site and then went to buy milk at the real foods market and realized it was there as well. Yeah!!! I bought one!! I didn't want to have to wait a few days for it to arrive… I know it is going to be a must have book…!!! I picked up raw milk from your house a long time ago before the milk could be sold from the store and you mentioned putting recipes together in a cookbook. You are a wealth of knowledge so I have never forgotten about that and am so happy it is finally here. It is very difficult to find individuals that cook this way!!! Thanks again!!" -Elizabeth

“I bought your book on Friday and by Saturday afternoon I had read the first 68 pages. It’s delightful. I have been trying to live the word of wisdom for years. Any More insights are always needed and yours about healthy meats and dairy products, (which I eat very little of because of the way they are produced) was enlightening. Thank you for a great book. Thank you for a very informative and delightful web site.”-Carolyn

“…I have enjoyed reading your book so much because I have been looking for this kind of information. I have been struggling with my weight for a long time and have tried different diet programs. I even went to Weight Watchers for awhile until I was surprised by the lady conducting the meeting when she described her favorite breakfast. She said she starts with a Nutrigrain frozen waffle, then she sprays on a layer of butter flavored Pam and then adds fat-free caramel sauce and Cool Whip. I think it was at that point that I realized that I was in the wrong place. That did not sound like food to me. I am also interested in what you have written because I have a son that has Auditory Processing Disorder… I am interested in finding out if a diet using whole milk and whole cheese instead of the fat-free versions can help him. I have read in so many books that our body doesn’t need the fat in the whole milk products but I always had a feeling that was wrong. I’m sorry that I have written so much… I am so excited about what you have written that I can’t help myself!!!” -Michele

"I heard about your book from a fellow Weston Price Foundation Chapter leader and it looks great. I am quite up to speed with how to eat well and eat real food but am always looking for new recipes...Thanks for your consideration and for trying to correct the dietary insanity in this country. I'll have extra fat and eggs with that, thank you very much!" -Leslie

I'm freaking out!!! …Oh man!! The food we've been eating has been soooo delicious. Right now I am solely using your cook book. I've probably made about half. I did the bagels yesterday. They about tasted like doughnuts. I knew your cook book would be great, but these recipes are just unreal! Love it. Thank you so much. It's nice to have a book where every recipe you don't have to soak something.” -Kristie

"Chicken Enchiladas were awesome!! A big hit with the kids. I wasn't sure if they would like them, but they asked for seconds!! Good thing I made a second batch ;) When I bought the book it was sold out on Amazon, so I bought 2 at Barnes, and sent one back to my Mom in Utah. Good thing... who knew if she was going to be able to find it there since it's having such great success!! Congrats!!" – Kari

“Michelle, you have made my day! Thanks for doing this footwork... I just ordered two! Really looking forward to getting a new alternative to Nourishing Traditions, which I will always love and be grateful for. I have had friends ask me to teach a cooking class and have been reluctant because what I wanted was a cookbook that I can give to go along with classes, one that will be appealing to people making THE big switch…I will definitely be buying more copies to both give away to loved ones and include with classes as a reference. Sometimes Nourishing Traditions is just TOO different for people to grasp…Woohoo... I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it... !” – Beth

"LOVE the cookbook! I've read almost half of it. You two are hilarious!" – Laura

“Oh dear beautiful Michelle! I read your intro in your book last night & it was so real & touching, it so pulled my heart strings. You have made an incredible journey! I could so relate to what you were saying! Love you & admire you!”- Crystal

“I'm so excited to get your cookbook. I have been on an organic "Keepin' it REAL" kick lately. It's a long story but it started with having to switch to organic makeup because of an allergy and before I know it I am wanting to get back to basics with everything I feed my family and put on and in their bodies!”- Jen

“I really enjoyed your book! I had been reading a few of the books in your suggested reading section and was struggling to apply what I was learning. Your book summarizes everything I've read, so far, and gives me a realistic way to start applying everything (and new resources to learn from! ) My husband, noticing how obsessed I've been with this new found knowledge, has been suggesting that I take classes on all of this. Well, I'll definitely be signing up for your video subscriptions :) Thanks for writing this book! It was an answer to prayer~” – Crista

Memorial Weekend and my BBQ'n recipes!

2010-05-22T17:04:00.000-07:00

i've been getting ready for a special Memorial Weekend. Actually we have been doing some this weekend and we will also next weekend. i hope you'll enjoy this special Memorial weekend coming up as much as i always do. It is filled with tradition and love. Full of sweet memories. Like how my Dad would lovingly cut the grass away on the edges of his Dad's tombstone every year, since he was a kid. i'd watch him clean every crevise of it perfectly. i loved observing this act of service and great love that he displayed for his Dad. i'd also climb on tombstones, you know those humongous ones that were really tall? (maybe i shouldn't admit that.) My brother and i would also run around the cemetery like happy little kiddos all hopped up on BBQ food.
i loved the trip up North too, where we would have our traditional family picnic before going to my Mom's parents Grave sites and being with my cousins.

Memorial weekend is a time for outward acknowledgements of love for our loved ones that have gone Home before us.....It is ALSO A TIME FOR REALLY YUMMY fOOD (hopefully Reeeeeal fOOD). i am sharing one of my recipes at the bottom of this post! i hope you enjoy it as much as i did! i LOVE the traditional and fantastic BBQ menu. i made all the picnic-style foods yesterday. i made My Potato Salad recipe (it's on pg. 111 of my book, The Diet Rebel's Cookbook) and a new recipe of mine that i might end up calling "36 Minute Hamburger Buns", using sprouted wheat flour! They turned out so good, wanna see them? they are pictured below. They turned out super SOFT and tasty. Everyone knows that a picture is worth 1000 words so........ i'll just shush-er-up now. ;) Have a Fantastic Memorial Weekend...with all your wonderful memories, nourishing food and loved ones.

Michelle's 36 Minute Hamburger Buns

Makes: 10-12 buns/Prep Time:15 min./knead:3 min./ Rise:10 min./ Bake:8 minutes

• 2 packets active dry yeast

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110° to 115°)

• 1/3 cup melted butter or coconut oil

• 1/4 cup unrefined whole cane sugar (Sucanat)

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1 teaspoon Redmond Real Sea salt

• 4 1/2 cups Sprouted Spelt FLOUR (Spelt is a heirloom variety of wheat. i then Sprout it. Dehydrate it. Grind it into flour. The directions are in my cookbook. :)

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add butter or coconut oil and unrefined sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the beaten egg, Redmond Real Sea salt and enough flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface or knead in the bowl until smooth and elastic, about 3 minutes. Do not let rise yet. Divide into 12 pieces; shape each into a ball. Place 3 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Let rest for 10 minutes. Bake at 425° for 8 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Here is a couple pictures of My Homemade Sprouted Wheat Hamburger Buns, that i am so excited about. Did i mention that they only take 36 minutes? i cut them in half with an electric knife...makes it fast and eez-ay! Then i bagged them up in a freezer bag and tossed the extras in the freezer, after all, it's almost summer time. So we're just getting started with the BBQ'n around here...

Now here's a look at how i make my Potato Salad recipe... warning: Lots of pictures! :)

i chop the fresh chives from my garden, pickles and celery...while the eggs and potatoes are cooking (separately).

Then i whisk the "Sauce" for the salad in a large bowl.

Here's a look at what else i use in my recipe!

i like using the Veganaise, Grapeseed oil kind, with the purple lid. Grapeseed oil isn't the most supreme health oil, i know, but compared to other commercial "mayo's"...its rockin' awesome! And it tastes just like regular Mayo. Which is really important to me! :)

i love these organic herbs and spices. They have the absolute BEST flavors! so good. i also like using Yukon Gold potatoes for this Salad, as i can actually chop them up before i boil them and they don't dissolve into the water like the Russet variety can... and does. (humm. i wonder how i know that? ;) My eggs are also from local pasture-raised hens. It's a family favorite in the warmer months.

and here is the final product!.....................

It is a Nourishing spin on a classic!

i double bag these with a labeled freezer zip-bag and toss 'em in the freezer. When we need more i take a few out an toast them a bit in the toaster oven. Then they are crisped on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. ahh-yah.

Here's some pictures of the homemade hamburgers, toppings and buns. We like (raw) cheeseburgers (actually we like bison best!)mmm.

Now, here is the Cheeseburger... First the PRE-smoosh-yer-bun-so-you-can-get-yer-mouth-around-it one and the next picture that follows is the already half eaten and smooshed-bun Cheeseburger one. :)

ahhhh. melted cheese, raw deliciousness. Sorry 'bout the half eaten display here! ha ha. oh well, you get the.....picture. ; D

A Very Special Birthday Tribute & Recipe

2010-05-11T19:05:00.000-07:00

My sweet and loving Grandmother just passed away this week and her funeral was just yesterday. She was just shy of her 90th birthday.

At her funeral, many people talked about her love and talent for cooking, among other things. It's true, she loved cooking and was famous for her recipes, everyone LOVED her food. i am so proud to be her grand-daughter! She and my Grandpa loved chocolate... and ... let's be honest, my whole family LOVES chocolate! So today, with my love and memories still in a rolling, bittersweet upheaval, i decided to bake a very special birthday cake in memory of my beloved Grandma. HAPPY 90th BIRTHDAY GRANDMA! i love my memories of her cooking and that she taught me to love to cook too, by her example. i made my Chocolate Birthday Cake recipe pictured unfrosted below (pg. 231) and frosted it with my Chocolate ButterCream Frosting pictured below (pg. 238).

This cake is so delicious! it has a very moist texture and has perfect springy-ness. ( i included MY RECIPES AT THE END OF THIS POST :) i doubled the frosting recipe because we love frosting, and i wanted to frost the middle and top of the cake today. i can't take all of the cooking credit today, though! my daughter LOVES to help me cook. My family is definately a legacy of chefs and food lovers! :)

Today was no exception. it may take me twice as long to bake, but it is twice as fun with her! She definately enjoys cooking, which delights me and i am honored to be her teacher.

Cake pictured at left is the piece of cake she got to frost all by herself. She was VERY proud. i am too! :) it is actually two pieces of cake layered. we frosted the sides after.

My Grandma was a loyal and devoted Mother, Grandma and GREAT-Grandma. She loved and cherished her family. i never doubted how much she loved me or my family. My daughter loves her and misses her too. My Grandma was beautiful inside and out. i know she is proud of me and my love for cooking (i think she would LOVE this cake i made for her!) i am thankful for her love, strength and example. i cherish, love and admire her so much. i will be excited to see her again someday. i believe that i will. i know that families can be together forever someday. i am grateful for the peace and comfort that gives me. i am also grateful that although i cannot see her anymore, i can feel her spirit and her love for me. I LOVE YOU GRAMS! hugs and kisses...

Michelle's Chocolate Birthday Cake
(found in The Diet Rebel's Cookbook)
Makes: 1 9x13 cake/Prep Time: 25 minutes/ Bake Time: 30-35 minutes

1 3/4 cup sprouted soft white wheat flour (i used sprouted spelt flour today)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon Redmond Real Sea Salt (pictured below)
3 eggs (from pasture raised hens)
2 1/4 cups Unrefined whole cane sugar (i use Sucanat and buy in bulk), pictured below
1/2 cup butter (from grass-fed/pastured animal), melted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole yogurt (plain or vanilla- i like and use the Brown Cow brand)
3/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish ( i use a glass one) with butter or coconut oil. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and real salt together. (i like using a whisk to mix them). In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together. add the liquified butter, vanilla, yogurt and water. Blend well. Pour the wet mixture into the large bowl on top of the dry ingredients. Mix well. Pour cake batter in greased baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes, or a toothpick comes out clean. After cake has completely cooled, use a knife to cut the sides at a horizontal angle, to be the same height as the center of the cake, if desired. ( i always do it...mainly so i can eat cake before anyone even knows! :)
*frost with "Best Chocolate Frosting" or "Chocolate ButterCream Frosting" that follows.

Michelle's Chocolate ButterCream Frosting

(found in The Diet Rebel's Cookbook)

Makes: approx. 3 cups/ Prep Time: 15 minutes

8 ounces cream cheese, softened ( i used Organic Valley cultured cream cheese)

1/2 cup butter, softened

6 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup pure maple syrup or agave

1/2 cup unrefined whole cane sugar, called "Sucanat" (pictured below)

Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add vanilla, agave or pure maple syrup and sugar. Beat until smooth.

"Sucanat" - delicious unrefined whole cane sugar!

Pssst...People ARE TaLkiNg about The Diet Rebels cookBOOK!

2010-04-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

i decided it deserves to be shared. i have had overwhelming and awesome responses from readers of my new book, The Diet Rebels Cookbook. it really is a shame for only me to know, so it's time i shared what people are saying. it would be to much work for me to get permission from a hundred+ people. so i am picking random comments, not favorites or anything :) also i will not name names for privacy, plus i don't have time to get all of their permissions!

First, here is a link to an obviously very cool girl, who blogged about our book ;) and she even shares one of my recipes! and was "giddy" to find my soft caramel popcorn recipe too! read her post here:
www.allaboutfoodstorage.com/2010/04/a-food-storage-cookbook-for-health-nuts-like-me/

Say it ain't "SOY"!!

2010-04-16T10:25:00.000-07:00

i hate to admit it, but yes, about 9 years ago i decided to buy a popular brand of soymilk. Like so many people, i thought i was doing something healthier for myself. eehh! (that's my buzzer noise) i thought it was a step in the right direction. The soy-bean-milk has been touted as being healthier than natural milk from animals quite heavily for a couple decades now. so i followed blindly, for a MOMENT. i quickly realized that i was allergic to this man-made "milk" (actually not milk at all. It is bean water, that tastes so puke-ragious that they have to add thickeners, flavorings and sweeteners, so you don't gag really bad).

my throat would itch so intensely-- all day long, after i had only a small amount on my cereal in the morning. i thought it tasted pretty good, i mean it had the vanilla flavoring and sugars added to it, so i wouldn't do a triple dry-heave. But i was tortured by the itchy throat every single time i consumed it... so i finally wised up and didn't buy the stuff again...for a while. Not-so-Brilliantly I tried it again and the same thing happened, so i accepted my allergy to soy and moved on to... try rice milk! Again, believing/experimenting with "healthier" choices in my diet.

yeah! right? hmm. actually, not-so-"yeah!" Luckily my body is cool with rice and rice "milk". However...the flavor was and is far to watery and unsatisfying (aka: disturbing) for me. so that was a big-time-no-go for me. This was all before i studied and researched for years about true health and real nutrition, of course! ;o)

Thankfully i slashed through all of the deceptions and poor research and awful nutrition advice out there. Including the fears about real animal milk.

First things first though, Soy. it is a bean. a rare bean in history, actually...not used for human consumption. Civilizations in history couldn't gag the disturbing flavor of this bean down. The gag reflex always stopped them from being able to swallow it. AND when someone did manage to swallow it down (with tears in their eyes) it caused so many digestive problems and complaints they quickly avoided it like the plague. However, in Ancient China they discovered, quite by accident, that if soybeans were allowed to ferment, this resulting "soy-curd" didn't cause the immediate discomfort and health problems associated with the un-fermented soybean! So the only way people in history were ever willing (perhaps there was cruel and unusual punishment for some prisoners back then with soy?) to eat soy-was if it was fermented, like the old-fashioned/ancient way they made tofu... by fermentation (not how tofu is made commercially today! yuck!), also fermenting soy to make "temph" and "miso". (The problematic phytic acid is not neutralized in sprouting or soaking of the soy bean, like other grains and beans.) Soy must be fermented to be digestible and edible. No wonder my body called a "red flag" (itchy throat) on that commercial soy-milk, i consumed!

i personally avoid soy all together. period. it is so unappealing to me and i prefer just about anything else. i also prefer avoiding common allergenic foods...if millions of people have a common allergy to a type of food...that is a huge red flag to me!! (i.e. soy, wheat (unsprouted), nuts, peanuts, etc.) Either the "food" isn't actually healthy to consume, or to consume it at all OR there is something very, very important missing in the preparation method of the food. (which is taught in my book, The Diet Rebel's Cookbook, that i co-Authored and it has hundreds of my recipes in it! www.GetRealWithFood.com )
As if everything i just mentioned about soy isn't enough, most of all soy today is GMO (gentetically modified organisms) Which causes further havoc and problems in our amazing bodies. Our bodies do not recognize GMO foods as food at all. our bodies detect them as foreign invaders. Thus the allergic resposes. :)
for more enlightening information on soy, please visit: www.westonaprice.org/soy-alert/index.php

So PLEeeeeeASE!!!! Say it ain't SOY!!!! :-D

p.s. more to come on the old nuts and peanuts...and why i believe these are mythical "health" foods too. :)

Want some Cake? it's "home-made"!!!! :)

2010-04-11T17:05:00.000-07:00

i laugh A LOT. there's a lot to laugh about, well at least in my life :) sooo today, in particular, i was laughing at hundreds of recipes...especially many from very popular "cooking show hosts". Which shall remain nameless--- for now. All of that laughing combined with my sassy nature and i have to blog about it now. Ahhhh. fake-cake. seriously. Do we really need a recipe if all it is going to do is tell us to go to the store and buy a "box of yellow cake mix"?? ha ha ha. i mean really. Is that a cake recipe? If i make the choice NOT to mix my own flour, sugar and baking soda together and i decided it was easier to travel to the store and buy a box of "cake mix", bring it home and add an egg and butter to it, stir it three times before i plop it in a baking dish and place that in the oven...does that make the cake homemade? i made it at home. hmm. i am calling that kind of "cooking" SEMI-homemade. is that fair? Because we all know what homemade really is... and how satisfying it tastes! i know i am not the only one that thinks that boxed cake mixes have weird off flavors- reminiscent of some plasticky-sweet-fluffy-stuff. It's just not REAL food. the taste proves it. Probably something to do with the fact that the nutrition and minerals are actually God/nature made flavorings- yes, it's true. So if i make a box cake recipe with white flour, white sugar, and hydrogenated oils (artery cloggers)...there is no flavor. zero flavor. that is why they add "ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS" at the bottom of the ingredient label. Blaahh. spit. spit. I prefer REAL FLAVOR, thank you very, VERY much.

Well, now wait a minute. i don't know, some of those "pretty" art project cakes look, well, quite pretty. however, this one below....hmmm.... Not so much! ha ha. this "recipe" is called "Cat Box Cake"! the ingredients are dis.gust.ing. and the picture of it too. :) ****warning: for your health and well-being please don't make this recipe! BUY MY BOOK FOR REAL CAKE RECIPES TODAY! http://www.getrealwithfood.com/ :)

Ingredients:
1 (18 oz.) box spice or German Chocolate Cake mix
1 (18 oz.) box white cake mix
1 pkg. white sandwich cookies
1 large box vanilla instant pudding mix
12 small Tootsie Rolls
1 litter box (preferably a NEW one!)
1 plastic scoop and some green food coloring

Anyone know how many times i use these " " quotation marks in this post??? sheesh... too many :)

Why does it matter what i eat or how it is made?

2010-04-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

http://www.getrealwithfood.com/

Q: Isn't it a good thing to have advanced and convenient foods? Why does it matter if my food is real (made by God/Nature) or refined and processed (from man)??

A: Well, considering God made our bodies and he made food for them (AND i think he's a pretty smart guy)...i think it is wise to eat the "old-fashioned" foods that can be grown, raised and made even today, just as they have for 6000 years. That is the definition of "Real-Food" or "Slow-Food" vs. junk food and fast-food. i LOVE and live on slow-food! :)

The further our food choice is from the traditional-God-given-foods, the further away from health we tend to get. Our society and culture is addicted to convenience foods. Do we really want to sacrifice our families and children's health for the throw in the microwave meals?

There's just not enough time, right? it seems like nobody has time to cook anymore. i mean really cook. Not just feed faces, but to create nourishing, made from scratch meals. The kind that sustain life and supports our health.

The fact of the matter is, we all have the same amount of time and we do what we do based on our priorities. Whether you work from home or are a busy doctor with a full time practice- i know all of these types of people an dthey all make their whole foods lifestyle work for them- because it matters to them. Anyone can do it! For whatever reason, preparing wholesome and tasty food is important to so many people! Unfortunately, not everyone. Sometimes it takes, what i went through to realize how important it is- losing my health and happiness...and being willing to do anything to have it again!! (my full story is in the Rebel's Cookbook, as well as my co-authors) i know that it does matter how we eat. It does affect our health for better or worse- every choice and every bite. i am so grateful i turned my health around years ago by making better whole-food choices! My body and mind thank me everyday by giving me strength, health, happiness and energy.

Sometimes it is just bad habits that are not really working for us. habits and addictions to food and drinks that destroy your body, little by little- Keeping you from living a full and productive life.

It is your choice. Either way- you get to choose for yourself and your family! :)

DIET REBEL'S COOKBOOK available NOW on MY WEBSITE!!!!!!! :)

2010-04-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.getrealwithfood.com/

I am SooOoo excited to be announcing the arrival of my first book! I wrote it with my co-author, Jillayne Clements and we can't wait fo ryou to read it! You can purchase it right now on my website at a discounted introductory price! ONLY $14.95!!!! (retailing for $17.99) i will sign every book that is ordered from my website. Make sure you leave a comment on my website, after you read our book. i have been loving hearing all the feedback! This book is UNIQUE and revolutionary. There is no Cookbook like it. It is so much more than just another cookbook. There are over 30+ pages of our personal stories, and what we have learned from a decade of personal research, education and study. Jillayne and i have also combined our recipes to bring you over 350+ REAL-food recipes!!!!!! It is inspiring and empowering to read and i hear it's funny too! ;)

http://www.getrealwithfood.com/

What people are saying about 'The Diet Rebel's Cookbook':

"LOVE the cookbook! I've read almost half of it. You two are hilarious!" --Laura B.

"love the new book! You [both] are so creative and talented!" --Sue L.

"Jillayne's and Michelle's cooking ability as well as talent to teach how to cook is outstanding. I've traveled the world, literally, and haven't found food as tasty and as 'feel good' as the fantastic dishes made by these two. Michelle and Jillayne have taught viewers nationwide through cooking presentations at Young Living's Lavender Days, catered events, and the popular television show, Good Things Utah. Jillayne and Michelle have the ability to dazzle the taste buds of even the pickiest eater and fill lives with wellness through their recipes and tips."--Tiffany Covington

"These desserts are absolutely divine! You wouldn't guess that you would feel nourished after eating dessert, but with these culinary masterpieces you actually do! Jillayne and Michelle have truly made this food into a delectable art. I am grateful that they are sharing their talents for consciously creating and combining healthy, tasty nourishing food!" --Crystal Betterton

"...Jillayne and Michelle's recipes have been a lifesaver. My kids love the way whole foods taste. I am so full of gratitude that I was able to discover this natural way of eating that helped my family and me become whole. I am especially grateful for these delicious recipes that have helped me along the way." --Jennilee

http://www.getrealwithfood.com/

Farm or Factory?

2010-03-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

i am such a passionate person, i have been pretty fired up lately- pushed over the edge so to speak. so i am writing about something i can vent about.
Let the truth unravel. i am talking about the billion dollar dairy industry today. There is definate corruption in the food industry, and it deserves more attention. MY PASSION is truth. values. and integrity, not to mention Nourishing food, of course. i will not follow blindly, i doubt there is anyone that wants to. (this is part of why i don't watch the news and i do my own research! :) and it just so happens that this blog is about food, so...

i completely cringe at the lies, misleading advertisement and o-so-clever marketing campaigns- targeted to deceive the public (you and i), including my friends and loved ones-- about food and what is healthy. The lies are in no short supply on TV, billboards and magazines...it is all very gag worthy. i would like to believe that it is easy to discern the truth from the lies everywhere (and in everything), but the truth is...it can be difficult to do sometimes.

When any aspect of our food supply becomes "big-business"...the quality inevitably suffers, every time. The main goal becomes profit, not quality. Every. Time. Is your food from a big-business? or is it homemade?

DO you know where your milk, eggs, yogurt and meat come from? Have you visited the farm? seen the animals? Have you been shown by the farmer how they raise and feed the animals? Have you seen how they make sure your milk if healthy and certified clean? If you haven't...you REALLY, really deserve to!

(i am going to rattle off a bunch of questions now, but i promise to answer them and/or inspire you to do your own research, and not just take my word for it :) Is all milk healthy? No. Is all milk unhealthy? No way. The main difference is whether it comes from a small dairy FARM or family FARM where the animal lives on pasture. Not a FACTORY cow, in confinement. This picture shows confined pigs (they do the same thing to cows, chickens, etc.)...where they spend their whole life-not moving, not-living. Cows need be eating fresh growing grass (cows are HERBAVORES) in a pasture, fresh air, sunshine, able to sit, stand, etc.
Should all milk be pasteurized? No, however there are some that need to be, that is the truth. Like the contaminated and impoverished milk from confined animals, that are fed grain and even worse-- drugs, anibiotics and hormones. YIKES.
what happened to milk? when and why did pasteurization start?
Do you REALLY know? Do you still find yourself believing what someone has ignorantly said about raw milk...such as, "Oh that stuff is very SCARY! don't drink it or you could surely get a disease or die."? why are they saying that? Where does this notion come from? Where did the FEAR about "raw" milk come from? why do i drink raw milk? do i have a crazy death wish or something?

Why did dairy farmers remove their cows from green pastures to the big factories without grass and sunshine? You know, the factories that thrive in secrecy. The ones that hide their operation and don't want you to see the condition the animals are in, lest you be scared to death of their brand of product. These businesses are not even required to care for the animals or the milk they make...because it will be made "healthy" by pasteurization. (yeah right.)

i know i have asked a lot of questions! You deserve to know the whole juicy story. i am going to give you the short version. (i recommend "The Untold Story of Milk" by Ron Schmid for the long and enlightening version. Also, "Real Food: what to eat and why" by Nina Plank)

So, we are told that the milk is "pasteurized for your safety". depending on where milk comes from, may be pasteurized for your safety! Keep reading to dispell any confusion ;)

The 'Milk Pasteurization' story begins around the 1890's. Before this time, milk was always taken straight from the family cow or small country farm. However in big cities like New York...there was a huge demand for milk...how was it being supplied to so many in such a big city? there was so much waste-product coming out of a New York Brewery (where they make alcohol drinks, such as beer) that they started feeding this waste-product "slop" (which was barley and wheat remnant from the brewing process) to dairy cows. (brilliant people they were. Cows are herbavoires, remember, which means cows eat grass and vegetation, not grain) They figured this was a win-win... They could get rid of the huge land slide of brewery waste (make it disappear like magic right?) and then they could confine the cows to a small area and force them to eat it- since they wouldn't have any grass. So the farmer could now do more with his land. Well they soon realized an added plus for them by feeding the dairy cows this brewery slop. The milking cows were producing significantly more amounts of milk! yeah! more money, money! Sounds great, except...something started going very wrong with the poor cows. They were no longer anything close to being healthy, the were sick, crippled and diseased. It was a horrifying, sad, and disgusting sight to see, not to mention the profuse smell coming from the dairy cow confinement operation. The stench traveled for miles and miles...cows had never smelled like THAT before. They continued selling the milk raw, just like always in history- 'milk pasteurization' didn't exist yet. They were excited about the bigger profit gain and didn't think about how their big-whisky-dairy-feed-lot-milk was creating unsanitary and very unhealthy milk. Not so strangely, people that were drinking the milk from these types of dairies were all getting VERY sick, including many deaths! very, very scary stuff (this type of milk).
Louis Pasteur, a french chemist, already had made wine makers happy by extending the shelf life of their product through "heat treatment" - later to be called pasteurization, after him.

The benefits to these dairy businessmen's wallets were so significant (slop disappears, cows make more milk... $$) that even though they fully realized that their abusive (to the animals and earth God created for us) plan was killing people and animals, they continued. (infact it caught on and has become quite popular... wouldn't you say? it is criminal) Louis Pasteur applied his 'heat treatment' to this contaminated milk and experimented with it. He found that even though it was causing extreme illness before 'heat treatment', after it was treated with heat, this same sickly milk didn't seem to make people sick! Well, not immediately or in the same way...so they celebrated. Pasteurization is the answer! Not returning the cows to graze on grass, right? hmmm....can i say 'duh', now? (grrrr.)

Unfortunately we know how the story goes from there. Other dairy farmers wanted in on the huge money profit. They followed the confinement idea, the grain-feeding idea...and the obvious need for pasteurization and antibiotics when animals are confined. Pasteurization is a must for this type of unhealthy animal milk to be sold to humans. i think the practice of being able to "raise" animals in the brutal and cruel manner should be illegal. i think selling that kind of cooked sickly (dead viruses and bacteria) milk should be illegal too. it is outragous to me. Bad news for the helpless animals (God created), our earth (God created) (i.e. environment), and people's health. These big-business- dairy farmers (yes, they are government owned, by the way) make every attempt to squash out competors (grass-fed/ pastured animal dairy farms), especially the RAW MILK-pasture dairy farmers...they want everyone to believe that healthy, CLEAN milk is the unsafe product, because as long as they can make you and me believe that...they look like the good guys keeping you 'safe'. Lies. Deceit. fear tactics. They do what works, and it's been working.... unfortunately.
Please....please arm yourself with the truth and take some action for your family today. Don't take my word for it- i only hope to inspire you to do your own research. educate yourself from un-biased sources...not someone working in a government owned job or place. ;)
(just found an interesting website today- http://www.douglassreport.com/ i think it is worth checking out. he is firey and blunt....no wonder i like it! :)

p.s when cows are kept in confinement and fed unnatural diets of grain and slop they live maybe 2 years if they are unlucky. The healthy, happy pastured cow lives about 14-16 years, naturally. When a confinemet cow dies prematurely and diseased and crippled- it is called a "downer cow". That downer cow is then processed for CHEAP hamburger and also sent to luxurious restaurants. Pretty insane.

to your health & happiness,

Michelle Stewart

SpRinG is here! how i start my organic garden

2010-03-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

i am back after a very eventful past few weeks! i have a feeling it isn't going to slow down for a while either. The Expo i was just at last Saturday was SO much FUN! i enjoyed teaching a class how to make my pizza recipe! Then i sold out way too early of my Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake and Caramel popcorn. (all recipes are The Diet Rebel's Cookbook) There are so many things that i am excited to share with you and can't wait to post about. i am learning to make time for blogging! Lots of good things to come though.
Today there are 14 days to countdown until my book is available (today). i am happy to be able to offer The Diet Rebel's Cookbook online from my own website: www.getrealwithfood.com (it will be up March 30th) i will send everyone that orders from my website a signed copy of the book :)

One of the things i look forward to the most about Spring is the beginning of a new growing season for real food. i LOVE organic gardening; however where i live the growing season is far to short for me. So i extend my growing season by starting my own seeds- indoors... and oh, my word, it is so fun and EASY! if you are used to buying your plants to plant in your garden, please consider the satisfaction and power of knowing how to start your own. Being self-reliant is amazing and rewarding! Not to mention how incredible it is to watch these seeds start growing into plants after 1-2 weeks! i LOVE it!!

Here's how i do it:

i have a couple small-ish green houses that i use, i put them in my large south-facing kitchen window.

1) i begin in December or January with the peppers...yes really! :) i save seeds from the year before or buy them from Seeds of Change. this year i bought some reusable trays that have 72 "peat-pellets" in them. When watered, the swell into "mini-pots". it is basically just peat moss, which is all it takes for perfect and easy to grow seeds to begin life. (i bought the tray thing w/ peat-pellets in it, from walmart, the brand was jiffy, $6 ea.) i start my peppers (wonder bell and early jalepeno) first...in late December or early January.

2) Next is my tomato varieties, which i start in early February every year. By March the tomato and pepper plants need to be transplanted into bigger individual 4 inch pots. i just took these pictures of my tiny plants before transplanting to 4 inchers. It is a beautiful display to see all these little plants growing- makes me smile.

3) The spinach, kale, chard, onions, and potatoes...i directly plant those seeds out in my garden outside as early as i can...in early March, ideally.
4) The green beans i directly plant outside in early April.
5) i start my zucchini and yellow squash seeds indoors in April...they grow big fast. I transplant my tomato plants outside in mid April WITH coverings on them. The coverings i use are green tee-pee things that i fill with water and it keeps them warm and happy until i take them off around Memorial Day.

6) i also transplant the pepper plants and squash plants outside around the end of May- the same time i uncover the tomato plants.

anyway, i hope you realize that if i can do it...anyone can! You too can enjoy the freshest real, organic foods right from your own backyard (oh, it's so awesome). If you think its more expensive to eat organically grown food, think again! There is no comparison...not in taste or price!

What the China Study does not tell us...

2010-02-22T12:24:00.000-08:00

The China Study has received a lot of attention in the past few years. There are "pros" and mostly cons to this study.

If you haven't heard of this book or read the "China Study"...i will fill you in just a bit, (note: some people like to share the China Study to scare people from eating meat and dairy, this is not my purpose.)

I do not recommend the China Study as a means of total truth allowed, although it seems quite comprehensive.

here is a link to at least 39 different articles concerning the China Study that are WORTH viewing! :)

http://freetheanimal.com/2010/07/the-china-study-smackdown-roundup.html

first, i will tell you what the China Study IS...then i will explain something very, very important...what the China Study is not telling you and me!

The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell, PhD of Cornell University led over 20 researchers spanning over 40 years of compiled data from studying lab animals and men and women in rural chinese villages. What Dr. Cambell concluded is that diseases like diabetes, heart attack and cancer were correlated with the amount of protein (meat) a person consumed. It also concludes for you (quite convincingly, i might add) that dairy and the protein from dairy called- caesin, causes these diseases as well as meat consumption. That is the China Study put simply. i was scared of meat and dairy after reading this book, HOWEVER, i realized that there were certain types of meat and dairy products that were used in this study. The Primary one used in the study was powdered caesin.

What the China Study is not telling you and me makes ALL the difference here. They never mention that there are Bad, Good, Better and Best choices in meat and dairy. Nor did it mention that they used the worst possible (powdered caesin) in their experiments. Therefore, this study has only concluded what consuming high amounts of powdered caesin will do for you. They never studied the result of healthy raw milk or raw cheese from a healthy grass-fed/pastured animal fed to humans. Which is what people have eaten for thousands of years, with no disease. The China Study does excellently point out what eating processed and refined dairy will do for you. Please realize that there are many variables and types of meat and dairy. The heating of the milk and milk protein (caesin) is what causes harm and disease! My heartfelt and honest conclusion from the China Study, is that milk, cheese and other dairy products should not be heated- they should be raw!

Not Good---- powdered milk.

hardly "better"----pastuerized & homogenized milk (from sick, drugged up animal caked-in-poop and eating genetically modified grains topped with antibiotics and other drugs) it is cheap milk, because it's not worth... much at all.

slightly "better"---- pastuerized milk (not homogenized) from same sickly, poop-caked, drugged animal above.

BEST----- raw/fresh milk and cheese from very healthy, drug-free animal that lives on GRASS pasture, EATING GRASS all the time, no grain ever.

When a big-business "farmer" is "raising" animals for pasteurized milk, they are not required to care for the health of the animal, at all or the milk it makes! So sad. It is nothing more than pasteurized (cooked and killed) bacteria and disease from that sickly animal. Eeeew. SooOoo yucky.

My personal Conclusion: If i couldn't get my awesome raw milk and cheese, etc....i would NOT be eating the sickly, make-some-businessman-rich , milk and cheese.

The China Study is right about not consuming heated dairy, that i give it full credit for, but it leads you to believe that all milk is bad...i do not believe that, and i have many reasons. As for their study on meat consumption...same thing as far as bad, good, better and best meat from animals. How the animal is raised makes ALL the DIFFERENCE. i believe and have strong convictions that meat, even the grass-fed, naturally lean type, is best eaten sparingly, except for in times of cold (winter), or famine....where i live in the winter- i am so grateful for it! :)

To your Health & Happiness,

Michelle Stewart

am i a vegetarian, vegan or raw foodist? my answer...

2010-02-20T10:30:00.000-08:00

there's a lot of labeling and grouping of dietary interests. i am not into the labeling or trying to figure out what someone is by clubbling them with a title by how they eat. HOWEVER, i get this question alot... so, here'goes...

Q: Are you a vegan? Vegetarian? Raw foodist?

A: By labeling standards..... NO.

First let me define (although it will bore me to do so) what these "labels" mean, generally speaking. Vegetarian= eats animal products, such as milk, cheese, eggs, yogurt, etc. Abstains from all meat. Eats fruits/veggies too.Vegan= eats Grains, Veggies, Fruit. Eats a lot of nuts. Abstains from all animal meat and all animal products. Raw foodist= eats food that is unheated and not cooked, only. Abstains from all animal product, animal meat and all cooked foods as well. phewf. and there you have it.

those are some of the most common and slightly trendy (if i might add) "health" diet fads going around. i am not criticizing anyone who has strong convictions in any of these directions. I know a lot of things can be tricky to discern and sift through when there are so many books and people telling us so much conflicting information about what is healthy and what is not. (trust me, i know) i'd really prefer to just talk about what i eat and WHY. That's the fun stuff. :)

i realize that people love to catagorize and label other people. so i came up with a label for myself and all of my like-minded-peeps, despite the fact that it's really not my thing, and i have spent years resisting the urge to do this...

Call me a REAL FOODIST... if you want a description of how i eat and what i support passionately, that is the title i like and will use, well, because i made it up- and it's really catchy... and i will elaborate on it just a tich today.

REAL FOODIST= (i.e. Michelle Stewart) Eats TONS of fresh (raw) fruits, vegetables, smoothies, etc. Eats only grass-fed, pastured animal meat (in the winter or colder months), grass-fed, pasture-raised...eggs, raw milk, raw cheese, sprouted whole grain (homemade) products. There is no trend to this way of eating. It is how people ate for thousands of years....BEFORE the grocery store, BEFORE money-hungry-restaurants, BEFORE trendy "health" food diets. and BEFORE cancer and heart disease where even heard of or experienced.

Why is your book called "Diet Rebel's Cookbook"? ,

2010-02-19T15:38:00.000-08:00

Q: Why is that the title of your book? What does "Diet Rebel" mean?

A: Great Question! (here's the short answer) My cookbook (The Diet Rebel's Cookbook) actually "rebels" against the Standard American Diet (SAD), as well as all the trendy fad diets, including low-fat and fat-free "food" aka crap. (yah, i said it...and i think i will again pretty soon, if you keep reading). Depriving yourself of necessary, healthy and nourishing fats will inevitably cause your body to store fat!

(read on for the longer-ish answer)

Low-fat, skim? That is all total crap-crappy-crapola with a huge profit margin on it and a nicely lit marketing campaign. You will not find low-fat or fat-free pimped in my cookbook. (which i already mentioned is silly rubbish) Nor will you find the bleached-out-glow-in-the-dark-white flour or white sugar recipes. You will only find the greatest, yummiest, tastiest, whole food recipes, that I have spent YEARS figuring out how to do... like what our great-great grandparents would have been able to do and already knew. (and NO, they were NOT making cashew ice cream or tofu burgers- blaagh!) my book teaches you how to cook REAL food the "old-school" way, because nobody knows how to do it anymore! My cookbook REBELS against all the tasteless, white sugar desserts that look like art projects, with no real flavor. My desserts are full of flavor and taste like a piece of heaven landed in your mouth... it is an enlightening must-read for anyone who has believed fat makes you fat- that is such a misconception...it is the type of fat you eat, not the nature/God-made fats. Nature knows best. Man knows how to make lots-o-money while making people sick . Join me in a revolutionary must-read and find out so much more, including my personal story of how and why i became a "Diet Rebel"!

My Cookbook being printed! (aka a brag-ish manifesto)

2010-02-19T11:59:00.000-08:00

Alright, i admit it...i have dreamt about this day. And, i know, i KNOW, talking about it for just as long! ha ha. Well... it's happened...it is officially being printed as i write this. My editor informed me that my cookbook is now at press! i am so jazzed that there has already been so much interest in it. She said that national stores have already made huge first orders for it (wahoo) and will have...(drum roll)... my. cookbook. on their shelves. April 1, 2010! That is just 5 weeks away. (Barnes & Noble, Borders, Deseret Book, etc, etc, etc.)

Deseret Book will be advertising my cookbook in their catalog AND running a radio ad on KSL radio (102.7 FM)...for my cookbook around Mother's Day! i am totally dancing around the house like a hyper child, all hopped up on "fruit" loops. i am way happy that all of my (and Jillayne's) hard work has been veiwed and loved by all these big businesses. That is so incredible. What a dream come true for me to have these stores excited about this one-of-a-kind cookbook.

SooOoo what is all the hype about? Why is THIS cookbook a must-have for everybody?

The book that has got so many people anticipating it's arrival is called...

'The Diet Rebel's Cookbook: Cooking Clean & Green'.

i wrote it with my sister-in-law. She has been on KSL (studio 5) and Good Things Utah- cookin' it up already. She and i have complimented each other so well with our opposites-attract-teamwork....and we did it! I can't wait to be able to finally share many of my recipes (and Jillaynes too) . I am equally excited to share all of the information about food and cooking, that your great-great grandparents would have taught you...that is almost lost from people on the earth right now. I take you back to the REAL food cuisine and your taste-buds and body will be ecstatic.

This book cannot be in our hands soon enough. i also can hardly wait for my actual bound cookbook that isn't a make-shift binder with all my red-pencil-marked-recipes and falling out tattered papers....

So me and my right hand man (literally, he's my husband) are working and playing like crazy to get my website up and running ASAP. It will be an amazing compliment to my book with tons of cooking-how-to videos and shtuff. i will also continue to peck away on this here blog ( i mean it, i use like two fingers to type and although i am the fastsest two-finger-typer... it would've be good had i payed more attention in my typing class in junior high...drats.)... i'll keep you posted.

To your Health & Happiness,

Michelle Stewart